System and method for distributing information to anonymous requestors

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for fulfilling a request for information, goods, or services, while maintaining at least partial anonymity of the requester include receiving from a requestor an indication of the request and at least one identifying code. A request packet is generated which includes the identifying code of the requestor along with information identifying the entity to which the request was submitted. The request packet may optionally contain information indicating which one of a plurality of locations operated by the entity has received this particular request, and may further optionally contain information indicating which one or ones of a plurality of fulfillment packages is to be distributed. A service provider receives the request packet, and determines, from a locally maintained database and based on the requestor&#39;s identifying code, at least where to distribute the fulfillment package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to distribution ofinformation and services, and more particularly to systems methods fordelivering, in response to an anonymous request, information and/orservices desired by an anonymous requester.

[0003] 2. Background

[0004] Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technology, integratedelectronics, and digital systems architectures, have lead to thedeployment, in modern times, of a vast array of electronic products,including those necessary for powerful computer systems, sophisticatedcommunications infrastructure elements, and various consumer electronicsdevices capable of accessing the flexible and high-speed communicationsnetworks made possible by these computers and communicationsinfrastructure elements.

[0005] A number of products and services have been developed to provideusers, or customers, with the ability to electronically order goods,services, and information. For example, Internet access devices such ascomputers, personal digital assistants, and even cellular phones permitaccess to web sites from which goods and services may be requested orpurchased. Unfortunately, many such electronic access methodologiesresult in the aggregation of personal information by web site operatorsand others. The aggregation of personal information raises concerns inconnection with how well the privacy and confidentiality of suchinformation is maintained. It is believed that such information, oncecollected, has often been spread through the Internet and otherwise,such that consumers receive unsolicited communications, and in somecases have suffered outright identity theft which has adversely affectedcredit ratings and caused all manner of legal problems for thoseconsumers.

[0006] What is needed are systems and methods for distributinginformation, products and services to a consumer who makes a request forsame, while maintaining some degree of anonymity for that consumer ofsuch information, products, or services.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Briefly, methods and apparatus for fulfilling a request forinformation, goods, or services, while maintaining at least partialanonymity of the requester provide for receiving, from a requester, anindication of the request and at least one identifying code. Theindication of the request and the at least one identifying code may beone and the same. A request packet is generated which includes theidentifying code of the requester along with information identifying theentity to which the request was submitted. The request packet mayoptionally contain information indicating which one of a plurality oflocations operated by the entity has received this particular request,and may further optionally contain information indicating which one orones of a plurality of fulfillment packages is to be distributed. Aservice provider receives the request packet, and determines, based atleast in part on the requestor's identifying code and the contents of auser profile maintained by the service provider, at least where todistribute a fulfillment package.

[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, a user profile providesinformation which controls the performance of a request fulfillmentorganization in terms of the location and manner of delivering afulfillment package; and further in terms of the degree of personalinformation which may be disseminated by the request fulfillmentorganization.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The features, objects, and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the detailed description set forth belowwhen taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify the same or similar elements throughout.

[0010]FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a system in accordancewith the present invention.

[0011]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a request packet datastructure.

[0012]FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of a corporate servicesubscriber subsystem that includes a variable display.

[0013]FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an illustrative process in accordancewith the present invention that shows the operation of a requestaggregator.

[0014]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an illustrative process in accordancewith the present invention that shows the operation of a requestfulfillment organization.

[0015]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an illustrative process, in accordancewith the present invention, that shows the interaction between a requestaggregator and a request fulfillment organization.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Various illustrative embodiment of the present invention arediscussed in detail below. While specific steps, configurations, andarrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is donefor illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant artwill recognize that other steps, configurations, and arrangements can beused without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

[0017] Reference herein to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or similarformulations, means that a particular feature, structure, operation, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment, is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of such phrases or formulations herein are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, various particularfeatures, structures, operations, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0018] Terminology

[0019] Individual service subscriber refers to an individual or anentity which provides a user profile to a request fulfillmentorganization, and receives, typically from the request fulfillmentorganization, hardware and/or software necessary to submit requests to arequest aggregator. The expression individual service subscriber is areflection of the fact of a subscription to services provided by arequest fulfillment organization. It is noted that for the purposes ofthis disclosure, the subscription relationship between the individualservice subscriber and the request fulfillment organization may be onethat involves the payment of one or more subscription, or other types offees, or the subscription relationship may not require the payment offees on the part of the individual service subscriber. An individualservice subscriber may also be referred to herein as a consumer.

[0020] Submitting a request refers to communication between anindividual service subscriber and a request aggregator which initiates atransaction. The information communicated to the request aggregatorincludes at least the individual service subscriber's identificationcode. Various means for submitting a request include, but are notlimited to, magnetic stripe cards encoded with the identification code,RFID tags encoded with the identification code, and low-powertransmitters (e.g., Bluetooth, or IEEE 802.11) embedded in consumerelectronic devices such as a cell phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), pager, or the like. With respect to magnetic stripe cards, RFIDtags, and similar items, these are brought into direct or proximatecontact with a reader; whereas with respect to consumer electronicdevices with low-power transmitters mentioned above, request submissionmay be achieved simply by pushing a button, or any similar interactions,which initiates the request function.

[0021] Request aggregator refers to an entity, typically, but notnecessarily, a commercial organization, that possesses the equipment forreceiving a request from an individual service subscriber, generating arequest packet, and communicating that request packet to the requestfulfillment organization. The request aggregator may collect, or buffer,a two or more requests (i.e., aggregate the requests) prior tocommunicating request packets to a request fulfillment organization. Arequest aggregator may also be referred to herein as a corporate servicesubscriber.

[0022] Request fulfillment organization refers to a service providerthat receives request packets from request aggregators, and based, atleast in part, on the request packets and the user profiles, fulfillsthe request by delivering information, goods, or services in accordancewith the user profile instructions. A request fulfillment organizationmay also be referred to herein simply as the service provider.

[0023] Fulfillment package refers to that information, product, service,or any combination thereof, that is delivered and/or provided to arequester in a manner initiated by a request fulfillment organization inaccordance with an individual subscriber's user profile. Typically, therequest aggregator provides the information or product to the requestfulfillment organization, and may update the contents or nature thereofas desired. For electronic content, the request aggregator may haveelectronic access to the request fulfillment organization to make suchtimely updates to that content.

[0024] Overview

[0025] Generally, embodiments of the present invention provideindividuals with the means to request information and/or goods, and/orservices, where the information, goods or services are associated with aparticular organization, and the request is fulfilled while therequestor remains either totally or partially anonymous to theorganization. The ability to provide partial or fully anonymous requestfulfillment, in accordance with the present invention, results fromdecoupling the request submission interaction with the consumer, fromthe request fulfillment operation. In this way, a consumer may providean identification code to an organization from which that consumerdesires to receive information, goods, or services, wherein no personalinformation is discernable from the identification code. The submissionof a request, in accordance with the present invention, involves anindividual service subscriber communicating an identification code byway of an RFID tag, a low-power RF transmission from a cell phone,personal digital assistant (PDA), a physical swipe of a magnetic stripecard, or any other suitable means of providing an individual servicesubscriber's identification code to a request aggregator. In variousembodiments, an RFID tag may be embedded in or on items including, butnot limited to, a cell phone, a PDA, a pager, a key fob, and similaritems that are readily transportable by an individual servicesubscriber. The request aggregator passes on the consumer'sidentification code along with information specifying how the consumer'srequest is to be satisfied, to a request fulfillment organization.

[0026] The request fulfillment organization, in accordance with thepresent invention, maintains a database, or any other suitableinformation storage and retrieval system, from which it can match theconsumer's identification code with the consumer's actual instructionsfor fulfilling a request. Examples include, but are not limited to, anemail address to which to send information; a street address to whichprinted matter or other goods are to be sent; billing informationindicating how to make payment for various goods or services; and so on.The information that is associated with a consumer's identificationcode, and which is in the possession of the request fulfillmentorganization, is referred to herein as a user profile.

[0027] Within the scope of the present invention the user profile may besimple or complex. In an example of a simple user profile, the userprofile may contain only an address to which information or goods are tobe delivered. In an example of a more complex user profile, the userprofile may contain multiple addresses along with delivery instructionsthat direct various categories of information, goods, and services tovarious ones of the multiple addresses. In this way, for example, arequest for vacation travel information can result in a fulfillmentpackage (i.e., the vacation travel information) being sent to a homeaddress, while a request for office equipment information can result ina fulfillment package (i.e., the office equipment information) beingsent to an office address. Similarly, the user profile can direct thatinformation be sent electronically, physically, or by both methods.

[0028] A clear advantage of embodiments of the present invention is thata request, such as, for example, a request for information, can behandled completely electronically. By reducing or eliminating physicaldelivery of hardcopy information, valuable resources, such as those usedfor the manufacture and delivery of hardcopies (e.g., trees and fossilfuels) can be conserved.

[0029] The user profile can also be used to direct, when the fulfillmentof a particular request requires a payment, how to pay for the requestfulfillment package. That is, electronic funds transfers can beautomatically initiated when the request fulfillment package (i.e., therequested information, goods, or services) is either shipped, delivered,or accepted, as specified in the user profile. Similarly, the userprofile may specify a particular account or accounts from which fundsare to be transferred, or to which charges are to be billed.

[0030] In some embodiments of the present invention, the requestaggregator collects voluntarily submitted biometric data from theindividual service subscriber along with the identification code, inorder to guard against unauthorized financial transactions in the eventof an item containing an individual identification code is stolen. It iswell known in the fields of authentication and secured transactions,that a greater level of security for a transaction may be had byrequiring from the requestor both an item assigned to the requestor(e.g. the identification code assigned to an individual servicesubscriber); and a biometric reading which identifies a uniquecharacteristic of the requestor. As used in this description ofbiometric authentication, unique may mean a characteristic thatcompletely and unambiguously identifies the requester, or acharacteristic the identifies the requester to within some predetermineddegree of probability (e.g., the odds of a false positive identificationare one in ten million).

[0031] The user profile may also specify whether complete, partial, orno anonymity is to be maintained in connection with a particularrequest, or with particular categories of requests. For example, thedata in the user profile may indicate that some or all of the personalinformation associated with the individual subscriber may be provided toa particular request aggregator, or to one or more request aggregatorsthat represent a defined class. By defined class it is meant that arequest aggregator be of a certain type, such as for example, an officeservices provider, a medical information provider, a restaurantequipment provider, an architectural services provider, and so on. Inthis way, the individual service subscriber specifies how his or herpersonal information may be distributed. Typically, the personalinformation of the individual service subscriber that submits a requestto a request aggregator is not provided to that request aggregatorunless the user profile of the individual subscriber specifies that suchinformation may be released.

[0032] It is noted that user profiles are typically stored within adatabase under the control of the request fulfillment organization. Inan alternative embodiment of the present invention, one or more requestaggregators may maintain databases of user profiles wherein those userprofiles are created by the collection of information submitted to therequest aggregators by individuals. However, such an arrangement doesnot provide the same degree of decoupling as is possible with thearrangement in which the user profiles are maintained separately fromthe request aggregators.

[0033] In a manner similar to that described above, the user profile ofan individual service subscriber may also specify whether the requestfulfillment organization may aggregate personal information regardingthe individual service subscriber's use of the service, and ifaggregated how that data may be used by the request fulfillmentorganization.

[0034] It is noted that even though the corporate service subscriberobtains, processes and communicates the individual service subscriberidentification code, the corporate service subscriber does not possessthe information needed to associate an individual service subscriberidentification code with a particular individual or entity.

[0035] Illustrative System

[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, an illustrative system 100 is shown whichincludes a tag 102 which is operable to wirelessly communicate with areader 104. Tag 102, which is described in greater detail below, istypically carried by a person, commonly referred to herein as anIndividual Service Subscriber. Reader 104 is coupled to a computer 106which is provides the computational and communication resources forassembling one or more packets of information to be transmitted to aremote service provider, commonly referred to herein as a requestfulfillment organization. In a typical arrangement, reader 104 andcomputer 106 are operated by an entity commonly referred to herein as aCorporate Service Subscriber.

[0037] Computer 106 is coupled by way of communications link 108 tocommunications network 110. Communications link 108 may be any suitablemeans of coupling computer 106 to communications network 110, but iscommonly implemented as a modem within computer 106 hooked to a plainold telephone service (POTS) connection. Alternatively, connections suchas, but not limited to, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN),Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL), leased lines such as T1, T2, or T3,broadband cable, wireless links to satellite-based communicationsservices providers, or any other suitable network infrastructure may beused, along with the appropriate modem or other communicationsinterface.

[0038] In this illustrative embodiment computer 106 may be any suitabledevice such as, but not limited to any of a wide variety of personalcomputers which are commonly available. Such personal computerstypically include input/output (I/O) interfaces by which reader 104 maycommunicate to computer 106 information which it received in itsinteraction with tag 102. Software running on, that is executed by,computer 106 processes the information from reader 104 and creates oneor more packets of information, referred to herein as request packets,and passes those request packets to communication software fortransmission over communication network 110. Such communication softwarestacks for personal computers are well-known and widely available, andso are not described in greater detail herein.

[0039] The request packets include data that identifies the individualservice subscriber, and the corporate service subscriber. In alternativeembodiments where more than one item is associated with the corporateservice subscriber for distribution, further data is included in therequest packet which provides the necessary instructions for the serviceprovider to distribute the correct item or items to the individualservice subscriber. Put another way, when a single request aggregatorhas multiple items that may be requested, there needs to be a mechanismby which the request aggregator can communicate which one or ones ofthese items the request fulfillment organization must distribute tosatisfy the request. In this alternative embodiment one or moreadditional codes are included in the request packet in order to let therequest fulfillment organization know what items are to be distributed.In this way, the individual service subscriber receives the requestedinformation, or product, or service, from the service provider ratherthan from the corporate service subscriber, and therefore the individualservice subscriber maintains anonymity in the transaction with thecorporate service subscriber.

[0040] In one illustrative example of a single request aggregator havingmultiple items which may be selected, a large retail store (the requestaggregator in this example) has several readers (devices through which aconsumer submits a request) and those readers are located in particularareas of the store that are related to particular products or categoriesof products. In this example, when a consumer submits a request, thelocation of the reader within the store is recognized, and a requestpacket is generated that includes not only the information whichidentifies the request aggregator to a request fulfillment organization,but also includes information specific to identifying the products orcategories of products for which, for example, information is to be sentto the consumer. Typically the specific reader is identified by way ofan ID code associated with that reader, and communicated to thecomputer, or similar computation device, which generates the requestpacket. Such an ID code may be stored within the reader, or may be anetwork node address such as an address associated with an Ethernet orany other type of network, by which the reader communicates with thecomputer.

[0041] Still referring to FIG. 1, communications network 110 of theillustrative embodiment is also coupled, by way of a communications link112, to a computer system 114. Communications link 112 may be similar,or identical to communications link 108, described above. Computersystem 114 is typically implemented as a database server, and isoperated by an entity commonly referred to herein as the ServiceProvider. The service provider may also be referred to as a requestfulfillment organization, an information provider, an informationdistributor, and by similar terms and expressions indicative of thefunctions of the service provider in terms of distribution ofinformation, and/or goods, and/or services. In this illustrativeembodiment, database server 114 operated by the service providerreceives one or more request packets from computer 106 of the corporateservice subscriber. The request packets, as indicated above, includedata that identifies the corporate service subscriber and the individualservice subscriber.

[0042]FIG. 1 also shows a communications link 116 which couples databaseserver 114 to a communications network 118, which in turn is coupled byway of communications link 120 to a delivery point 122. Delivery point122 is a target for information distribution. Delivery point 122 can bean email address, a phone number, or any other suitable target forelectronic receipt of information. Delivery point 122 may be electronicmeans within the home of an individual service subscriber, or may beelectronic means located anywhere else as determined by the individualservice subscriber. In alternative embodiments where the requested itemor items are not susceptible of electronic delivery, the requestfulfillment organization arranges for distribution, or delivery of therequested items in accordance with the user profile. In this way, forexample, when an item must be delivered physically rather thanelectronically, a user profile may direct that the item be delivered bymail, delivered by overnight package delivery service, held for pick-up,or any other suitable direction.

[0043] Communication links 116, 120, and communications network 118, maybe similar, or identical, to those described above in connection withcommunication links 108, 112, and communications network 110.

[0044] In one illustrative embodiment tag 102 is carried by anindividual. Tag 102 may be embedded, or incorporated in, or integrallyformed with, any suitable item that is easily carried, such as, but notlimited to, a card, key fob, pocket knife, glove, or other personalitem. Tag 102 may be thought of as the front-end of a Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) system. Tag 102 typically contains a coiled wirethat acts a both a receiving and transmitting antenna. In one embodimenttag 102 includes integrated circuits which provide memory and radiocircuit functionality. The memory is used to store a preprogrammedindividual identification code which is subsequently transmitted to acounterpart receiver (i.e., reader 104) which is remote from tag 102. Inone embodiment the transmitting frequency of tag 102 is 125 KHz. Theinformation encoded, i.e., programmed onto the integrated circuits oftag 102 may be programmed in any suitable format now known to, or laterdeveloped by, those skilled in the art.

[0045] It is noted that in alternative embodiments of the presentinvention, the function of the tag may be provided by other types ofdevices, including but not limited to, magnetic stripe cards that can beswiped through a magnetic stripe card reader, bar coded items that canbe presented to a bar code reader, cellular phones or other consumerelectronic devices capable of low-power wireless communication, andinfrared communication devices embedded with the information needed totransmit the individual service subscriber's identification code.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 2, a logical data structure representing anillustrative request packet 200 is shown. Request packet 200 includes acorporate service subscriber identification field 202, an individualservice subscriber identification field 204 and a requested itemidentifier field 206. The corporate service subscriber identificationfield 202 provides information to the service provider regarding theidentity of the corporate service subscriber. As will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the computer software arts, thisinformation may be in the form of one or more codes that represent theidentity of the corporate service subscriber, or may be in the form ofthe actual name of the corporate service subscriber. In variousalternative embodiments of the present invention, corporate servicesubscriber identification field 202 may also include information thatidentifies which one of a plurality of locations occupied by thecorporate service subscriber has originated the request packet.Individual service subscriber identification field 204 typicallycontains the data necessary to identify the individual servicesubscriber to the service provider (but not to the corporate servicesubscriber). This information, in combination with the user profile, istypically used by the service provider to determine where and how todeliver the information, goods, or services specified by, or otherwisedetermined from, request packet 200. Requested item identifier field206, may be useful in various embodiments of the present invention, butis not required by all embodiments. Requested item identifier field 206provides a facility by which the corporate service subscribercommunicates to the service provider, which one or ones, of a pluralityof information, goods, or services to distribute to the individual orentity defined by individual service subscriber identification field204.

[0047] It is noted that the particular order of the fields in therequest packet and the data contained therein may be rearranged withinthe scope of the present invention.

[0048]FIG. 3 is a block diagram representation of a corporate servicesubscriber subsystem 300 that includes a variable display 107. Moreparticularly, corporate service subscriber subsystem 300 may beimplemented as a kiosk that displays various items that may be requestedby anonymous requesters (i.e., individual service subscribers). In atypical embodiment, variable display 107 is implemented as a display,such as signage coupled with a reader, a liquid crystal display (LCD),or cathode ray tube (CRT) display, which is coupled to computer 106.Computer 106 drives display 107 under software control such that variousitems are shown which may be requested by an individual servicesubscriber. If the individual service subscriber submits a requestduring a time window that corresponds with the display of a requestableitem, then a request packet is subsequently generated with theindividual service subscriber's identification code and a requested itemidentifier that corresponds with the item displayed during theaforementioned time window. By having a time window which begins afterthe display of a requestable item, and which ends prior to a change ofthe displayed requestable item, a guardband is established so that arequestor does not accidentally request an item displayed prior to, orsubsequent to the display of the desired item.

[0049] It is noted that the term “item” as used above may refer toinformation, and/or goods, and/or services.

ILLUSTRATIVE PROCESS EXAMPLES

[0050] Referring to FIG. 4, an illustrative process in accordance withthe present invention which provides for operations of a requestaggregator includes receiving 402 a request at the request aggregator,the request including an individual identifier; generating 404 a requestpacket, wherein generating the request packet comprises forming a datapacket that includes data based, at least in part, on the individualidentifier, and further including data identifying the requestaggregator; and forwarding 406 the request packet.

[0051] As indicated above, the request aggregator may receive a requestfrom an individual service subscriber in any suitable manner, includingbut not limited to, bringing an RFID tag into proximity with the requestaggregator's tag reader. The tag reader may be in the window of therequest aggregator business location, or it may be placed within a roomsuch that a window or other separator is not disposed between the tagand the reader. Similarly, the request may be received from anindividual service subscriber using a magnetic stripe card, anon-volatile memory stick, a low-power RF transmitter, an IRtransmitter, or any other suitable means of communicating the individualservice subscriber's identification code to the request aggregator. Ofcourse, the request aggregator must provide the appropriate “reader” toaccept the identification code. The various exemplary communicationmeans described above all have commercially available counterparts(e.g., magnetic stripe card readers, or RF receivers), and these are notdescribed in greater detail herein.

[0052] The request packet is generated by a computer, or any othersuitable device possessing the appropriate computational resources. Therequest packet, typically in digital format, may have its fields, andbit patterns arranged in any suitable or convenient manner. Thecomputer, or other suitable device, may then forward, or communicate therequest packet to a request fulfillment organization. Such communicationmay be wired, wireless, or a combination thereof; and may becircuit-switched, packet-switched, or a combination thereof. Datacommunication methods between computers are well-known and are notdescribed in greater detail herein.

[0053] Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative process in accordance withthe present invention which provides anonymous request fulfillment,includes receiving 502 a request packet containing an individualidentifier and a request aggregator identifier; producing 504, based atleast in part on the request packet, a fulfillment package; andaddressing 506 the fulfillment package for delivery. The request packetis received by the request fulfillment organization which uses the datain the request packet to determine what it is that is to be provided toan individual service subscriber. This determination may be made in thesimplest case by looking at the request aggregator identification code.In this simplest case, the request aggregator has only one item to bedelivered and so knowing the identity of the request aggregator bydefault defines the item to be delivered. In a more sophisticated case,where the request aggregator has a plurality of items that may berequested, the request fulfillment organization looks to a requesteditem identifier in the request packet. The requested item identifierdetermines which one of several fulfillment packages is to be delivered.The request aggregator addresses the fulfillment package for delivery inone or more of several ways. For example, if the fulfillment packagecomprises information to be delivered electronically, then addressingmay be done by creating an email with the information and properlyaddressing the email. In another example, the fulfillment package mayneed to be physically delivered, and the request fulfillmentorganization then prepares, typically by printing, a mailing label, orshipping label. The addresses are determined by reading the user profileassociated with the individual service subscriber's identification codecontained within the request packet. A fulfillment package may havemultiple components some of which are delivered to different electronicand/or physical addresses, all as may be specified in the user profile.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 6, an illustrative process in accordance withthe present invention which provides for fulfilling a request with atleast partial anonymity for a requester, includes receiving 602, at arequest aggregator, a request from an individual service subscriber;generating 604 a logical request packet, the logical request packetcontaining at least data for determining a user profile of theindividual service subscriber and the identity of the requestaggregator; transmitting 606 the logical request packet to a requestfulfillment organization; and accessing 608, at the request fulfillmentorganization, the user profile to determine a delivery procedure. Theillustrative process of FIG. 6, demonstrates the interaction between therequest aggregator and the request fulfillment organization with respectto the formation and communication of the request packet. It will beappreciated that in some embodiments of the present invention, therequest fulfillment organization may communicate, in accordance withrules set forth in a user profile, information regarding the individualservice subscriber that made a particular request. For example, anindividual service subscriber may provide in his or her user profile,that age data, or income data, may be provided to the request aggregatorbut not address data, or name data. Any such logical combination ofrules for disseminating an individual service subscriber's personalinformation may be set forth in the user profile. These rule sets aretypically interpreted by software running on one or more computers, orsimilar computational devices, operated for the benefit of the requestfulfillment organization. By “operated for the benefit of”, it is meantthat the request fulfillment organization may operate such computers, orcomputational devices, or some other organization may actually possessand operate the computers with the computational results provided to therequest fulfillment organization.

[0055] Request aggregators, or corporate service subscribers, mayencompass a wide variety of organizations including, but not limited to,individual stores, restaurants, hotels, travel services, automobiledealers, movie theaters, banks, local government offices, and the like.In one embodiment of the present invention, the request aggregators arecharged one or more fees to the request fulfillment organization. Thesefees may be fixed periodic (e.g., monthly) fees, or may be a combinationof fixed fees and fees based on factors such as, but not limited to, thenumber and complexity of transactions performed by the requestfulfillment organization on behalf of the request aggregator.

[0056] Individual service subscribers, in some embodiments of thepresent invention, are charged one or more fees by the requestfulfillment organization in exchange for the services rendered. Servicesrendered include, but are not limited to, maintaining a user profile forthe individual service subscriber, and delivering one or morefulfillment packages.

[0057] In various embodiments of the present invention multipleidentification codes can be assigned to a single consumer. In thisexample, a tag having a first identification code may be incorporatedwith a cell phone that might send the information only to the cellphone, or to the cell phone and the consumer's home email address (asspecified in the user's profile associated with the first identificationcode).

[0058] In an alternative embodiment, hotels provide tag-equipped PDAs,or similar devices, to their guests. In such a scenario the hotelacquires a block of identification codes from the request fulfillmentorganization. The guests may then walk around town swiping kiosks (i.e.,submitting requests) with attractions, restaurants, and similar requestaggregators. Information provided in by the request fulfillmentorganization in response to such requests may be communicated to, and beperceived from the PDA, or similar device. Alternatively, the userprofile set up by the hotel may direct the request fulfillmentorganization to deliver requested information (e.g., directions,restaurant reviews, etc.) to be sent to a computer, or similar deviceaccessible in the room of the guest.

[0059] In another alternative embodiment of the present invention,individual service subscribers may receive one or more statementsdescribing or showing the requests that they have made. In variousembodiments, the individual service subscribers may specifically requesta statement, or they may request periodic statements, or statements maybe sent by the request fulfillment organization without being requestedby the individual service subscribers. Individual service subscribersmay specify how statements describing or showing their requests are tobe delivered, by providing such instructions in their user profiles. Insome embodiments, the request fulfillment organization may charge a feefor providing such statements. In other embodiments, individual servicesubscribers may access a record of their requests by accessing, via aweb browser, a web page maintained by the request fulfillmentorganization.

[0060] Conclusion

[0061] Thus, it can be seen from the above disclosure and drawings, thatmethods and apparatus for fulfilling a request for information, goods,or services, with partial or complete anonymity have been described.This is made possible, at least in part, by decoupling, that is,separating, the act of requesting an item from the act of delivering theitem. In this way, an entity receives a request including anidentification code which cannot be associated with the requestor'spersonal information by the entity receiving the request.

[0062] Some advantages of various embodiments of the present inventioninclude the anonymity for the requestor of information, goods, orservices; and economies of scale for the request fulfillmentorganization.

[0063] Another advantage of some embodiments of the present inventionincludes the ability to request fulfillment organization to aggregateuseful marketing information.

[0064] Various aspects of the present invention may be implemented ascircuit-based solutions, including possible implementation on a singleintegrated circuit. As would be apparent to one skilled in the art,various functions of circuit elements may also be implemented asprocessing operations in a software program. Such software may beemployed in, for example, a digital signal processor, micro-controller,or general-purpose computer.

[0065] The present invention can be embodied in the form of methods aswell as apparatuses for practicing those methods. The present inventioncan also be embodied in the form of program code embodied in tangiblemedia, such as punched cards, magnetic tape, floppy disks, hard diskdrives, CD-ROMs, flash memory cards, or any other machine-readablestorage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into andexecuted by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes anapparatus for practicing the invention. The present invention can alsobe embodied in the form of program code, for example, whether stored ina storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a machine, ortransmitted over some transmission medium or carrier, such as overelectrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or viaelectromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the program code is loaded intoand executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes anapparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on ageneral-purpose processor, the program code segments combine with theprocessor to provide a unique device that operates analogously tospecific logic circuits.

[0066] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limitedto the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and allembodiments within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving a request at arequest aggregator, the request including an individual identifier;generating a request packet, wherein generating the request packetcomprises forming a data packet that includes data based at least inpart on the individual identifier, and further including dataidentifying the request aggregator; and forwarding the request packet.2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the request packet furthercomprises forming the data packet to include at least one fulfillmentcode.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein forwarding the request packetcomprises addressing the packet to a request fulfillment organization.4. The method of claim 1, wherein forwarding the request packetcomprises transmitting the request packet to a request fulfillmentorganization.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the requestcomprises supplying a RF field adequate to activate an RFID tag andreceiving a transmission from the activated RFID tag.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving an RF signal.7. The method of claim 6, wherein the RF signal is received from alow-power transmitter.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying information regarding one or more items available forrequest.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein displaying informationregarding one or more items comprises providing a series of displayssequentially, and further comprising providing a timing window withinwhich the request can be received, the timing window representing a timeperiod less than the time period for which information is displayed. 10.A method of providing anonymous request fulfillment, comprising:receiving a request packet containing an individual identifier and arequest aggregator identifier; producing, based at least in part on therequest packet, a fulfillment package; and addressing the fulfillmentpackage for delivery.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingdetermining a profile of an individual service subscriber based, atleast in part, on the individual identifier.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein determining the profile comprises accessing a database.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising delivering the fulfillmentpackage.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the fulfillment package isan electronic data packet.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein thefulfillment package includes printed materials.
 16. The method of claim10, wherein the request packet includes packaged goods.
 17. The methodof claim 12, further comprising determining the content of thefulfillment package based on the request aggregator identifier and arequested item identifier.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein theprofile of the individual service subscriber comprises at least onedelivery address.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the profile of theindividual service subscriber comprises at least one delivery addressfor email deliveries, at least one delivery address for servicedelivery, and at least one delivery address for delivery of goods. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the profile of the individual servicesubscriber further comprises instructions regarding the dissemination ofthe individual service subscriber's personal information to at least onerequest aggregator.
 21. A method of fulfilling a request with at leastpartial anonymity for a requester, comprising: receiving, at a requestaggregator, a request from an individual service subscriber; generatinga logical request packet, the logical request packet containing at leastdata for determining a user profile of the individual service subscriberand the identity of the request aggregator; transmitting the logicalrequest packet to a request fulfillment organization; and accessing, atthe request fulfillment organization, the user profile to determine adelivery procedure.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the logicalrequest packet comprises at least two data packets that, taken together,represent the contents of the logical request packet.
 23. The method ofclaim 21, wherein the delivery procedure includes instructions for whereto deliver a requested item.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein therequested item comprises information.
 25. The method of claim 21,wherein the user profile specifies rules for handling the individualservice subscriber's personal information.